Christmas Markets in Hamburg

Ze Germans certainly know how to put on a good Christmas market. At least the Hamburgers do.

One of my best girlfriends, Jasmin, hails from Hamburg and has been wanting to show off her city to me for a while. I have a soft spot for the festive season (mostly thanks to the Christmas I spent in Scandinavia). So we decided the best time to check out Hamburg would be when the Christmas markets were on.

Thus ensued a weekend of huddling around Christmas markets with friends, eating all kinds of German goodies and drinking too much gluhwein.

I think my body has gotten too used to balmy English winters and forgotten what negative temperatures and icy winds feel like. But we braved the cold and strolled around some of the many neighbourhoods of Hamburg. We started in Altona where we met some friends (and had gluhwein for breakfast instead of coffee. Obviously).

We then made our way to Jugfernstieg and joined the shopper crowds. The plan was to stick to window shopping, but then we totally indulged. Sprawling under the shadow of the city hall, the nearby Rathaus Christmas market was also a joy.

The comparatively quainter Gänsemarkt was probably one of my favourite markets of all. Not to mention, I ate everything there. Or give it a good try at least.

We also had to pay a mandatory visit to the Schanze, which according to Jasmin is Hamburg’s answer to East London and should be my stomping grounds if I ever moved to Hamburg. But I was literally too cold at that point to pull up my camera and take any photos.

So that’s a good enough reason to play a summer Hamburg trip, right? I’d say so! But then again, nothing beats the festive charm.